Google expands AI search mode to South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria

The company has introduced AI Mode in Search, starting 21 August 2025, giving users in three African countries access to advanced features powered by its Gemini 2.5 model.

Google has rolled out AI Mode in Search for users in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, beginning on 21 August 2025. The company, a global provider of internet services and digital platforms, said the feature is powered by its Gemini 2.5 model and designed to manage longer, more complex search queries.

With AI Mode, users can frame multi-part questions and receive responses that combine reasoning, context, and links to external sources for deeper exploration. The tool also supports multimodal interaction, enabling searches via text, voice, or images, and applies a technique that divides complex questions into subtopics to generate more comprehensive results.

Google said the feature reflects its commitment to supporting an open web, as AI-generated responses prominently include source links. The rollout is available in a dedicated AI Mode tab on Search and through the Google app for Android and iOS, representing one of the company’s most significant AI launches in the region.